102Chinese Archaeology Archaeological 14 (2014): Team, 102-110 IA, CASS: © 2014 The by excavation Walter de Gruyter, at Liujiazhuang Inc. · Boston Locus · Berlin.North atDOI Yinxu 10.1515/char-2014-0011 Site

The excavation at Liujiazhuang Locus North at Yinxu Site in Anyang City, in 2010–2011

Anyang Archaeological Team, Institute of by tomb M70 must have been related to the “ ” clan. The excavation at this locus provided important materials Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences for researches on the layout and production of the handicraft workshops in the Yinxu Period. Abstract Keywords: Handicraft workshops–; From March 2010 to December 2011, the Anyang Liujiazhuang Locus North; Yinxu Site (Anyang City, Henan) Archaeological Team of Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences conducted the third season of Brief introduction of the site excavation at Liujiazhuang Locus North. In the uncovered area, the roads of the Yinxu Period formed a framework In March 2010 to December 2011, the Anyang for the distribution of vestiges: pottery kilns, house Archaeological Team, Institute of Archaeology, CASS foundations, wells, ash pits, sacrificial pits and burials of carried out the third season of excavation at Liujiazhuang various periods were revealed flanking the roads. Of them Locus North on the Yinxu Site in Anyang. The work the Yinxu Period remains may have been left over from a uncovered an area of approximately 3ha in total and pottery-making workshop area. Moreover, the excavation brought to light roads, ditches, pottery kilns, rammed- of the rammed-earth house foundation F79 is the first earth building foundations, sacrificial pits, wells, cellars, case of this type on the Yinxu Site, and the discovery of large-sized ash pits and medium- and small-sized burials a round bronze zun-vessel with ridges and an inscription (Figure 1), as well as various objects, which constitute from the hoard in its eastern courtyard is also the first important achievements. record on the Yinxu Site. The sacrificial pit H77 yielding a Stratigraphy of the site is relatively simple. In the legend-bearing bronze seal and the cemetery represented excavated area, beneath the cultivated soil, cultural

Figure 1 A full view of the excavated area on the site at Liujiazhuang Locus North (top is south). Anyang Archaeological Team, IA, CASS: The excavation at Liujiazhuang Locus North at Yinxu Site 103

remains of the Ming to Qing, Tang to and Han The stratum superimposed on the road surface is black silt to Three-Kingdoms periods emerged successively; formed by lacustrine deposition; it contains few artificial and below them, vestiges of the Yinxu Period spread remains except for some potsherds of the Shang and Zhou everywhere. Bordered by a Yinxu Period road stretching periods (Figure 2). from the east to the west, the early Yinxu Period remains 2. Pottery workshop area. are largely distributed on the northern side of the road, One of the most important achievements of the while the late remains of those times spread all over the excavation of Liujiazhuang Locus North is the discovery excavated area, with vestiges and objects forming rich of various vestiges and artifacts related to pottery and thick cultural accumulations. making. The previous excavations brought to light remains concerned with pottery making; the present work Important remains linked up by and large all the excavated pottery-making workshops into a large-scale workshop complex. The 1. Roads. workshop area at Liujiazhuang Locus North centers on In 2008, roads were discovered in the west and north of this locus and measures 300m in length from north to the excavated area. The traffic network consists of three south and 200m in width from east to west, occupying an parts: the western main road, the east-to-west linking road area of about 6ha. and the eastern main road. The present excavation cleared The present excavation brought to light seven pottery the remaining eastern part of the east-to-west linking road kilns, numbers of defective and damaged products and (renumbered L16) and the most part of the eastern trunk some pottery-making tools. The other vestiges recorded L17’s section within the excavation area. in quantities are also very possibly parts of the pottery- In all cases the surface of the excavated roads is lower making workshops. These include refuse pits for defective than the ground of those times, lying on the bottom of the and damaged products, long narrow rammed-earth house road ditches. It should be dated as the late stage of the foundations, large-sized quadrangle-style rammed-earth Phase IV of Yinxu Period because the lowest part of the buildings, densely distributed wells, various sacrificial road surface is 1.5m lower than the remains flanking the remains and over 1,000 medium- and small-sized tombs. road (considering that the height of the vestiges flanking Obviously most of the remains in the excavated area are the road were damaged by later strata, there may have directly or indirectly related to pottery production. been even a greater difference between the then road 3. Building foundations. surface and these vestiges on the two sides). Rammed-earth house foundations are widely spread L16 is narrower than the two main roads; its surface in the excavated area and cover the time from the late measures 5-6.7m in width. It is built of a mixture of stage of Phase I to that of the Phase IV of Yinxu Period, gravel, crushed potsherds and animal bones and bears but most of them have been seriously damaged, and traces of ruts. No large-scale sacrificial remains were found on the two sides. As regards Angang Boulevard L17, its northern section Zone V yielded no traces of large-sized gravel and other pavement material, but judged by the Zone I results of selective digging, Area excavated the road surface is about 15cm in 2008 thick and is superimposed on a hard-packed layer. The Zone II southern section is made gradually eastward-turned from Square the T-shaped intersection and extends beyond the excavated Potsherd area. The road surface is well heap Zhongzhou Road paved and measures 8.3-11.7m Zone IV in width. With the stratigraphical data Modern building Concentrated Zone III obtained from the two previous pottery-making Fanglin Street excavations taken into account, kilns and defective the function of the roads can and broken 0 50m be inferred to have begun at products the latest in the Phase II of Yinxu Period and continued to Figure 2 Distribution of the major vestiges revealed in the third season of excavation at the late stage of the Phase IV. Liujiazhuang Locus North. 104 Anyang Archaeological Team, IA, CASS: The excavation at Liujiazhuang Locus North at Yinxu Site

no earlier intact remains occurred among them. The better preserved several findings, such as F35 and F79, unexceptionally belong to the late stage of Phase IV. In distribution, with Road L16 as a border, the early house foundations are distributed mainly in Looting trench the north, while the late ones largely Steps in the south. Simultaneous large- Looting sized water cisterns were revealed trench Pottery Bottom of pottery urn around the houses in the course of the urn present excavation. In some cases, the Corridor passage H2498 drainage of house foundations were H2479 Pottery discovered to have been linked up basin Short wall with water cisterns, the earth resources Threshold Grindstone for ramming the house foundations Cesspool were successfully traced, the drainage Cesspool of domestic sewage and the way of refuse processing were clarified. Two units of long narrow rammed-earth foundations were discovered to be rather close to each other; such cases Pottery water pipe were seldom encountered in other areas of the Yinxu Site and must have been related to pottery production. House foundation F79 is located to the east of the southern section of road L17. Its northern and eastern Corridor Western parts and the courtyards remain in a Western side-hall passage Eastern Eastern side-hall courtyard courtyard good condition. This is a quadrangle facing to the south at an orientation H2479 H2498 0 3m of 4° and measures approximately 450sq m (including the courtyards) with a length of 22.5m and 20.75m Figure 3 The plan and section of house foundation F79. for the northern and southern sides respectively and a width of 20.6m for the eastern side and 19m for the western side. The whole building consists of a main hall in the north, two side halls on the eastern and western flanks, a corridor on the southern side, an eastern courtyard and a western one, a south-to-north central corridor-passage, and drainage system (Figures 3 and 4). The two courtyards measure 11.5m in the total length from the east to the west, 8.5m in width from the north to the south, and about 0.4m lower than the rammed-earth house foundation surface. In the north of the eastern courtyard are two steps for ascending the main hall in the north. The ground of the courtyard is flat and smooth. Some charcoal was discovered there, which would be the traces of the burnt wooden pillars left when the houses Figure 4 House foundation F79 (top is south). were burnt down. Slightly to the north Anyang Archaeological Team, IA, CASS: The excavation at Liujiazhuang Locus North at Yinxu Site 105

of the center there remains a cellar (H2498) in irregular shape. It measures 2.6m in length from the east to the west, 1.65m in width from the north to the south and 2m in depth, with the lower part larger than the top and a flat bottom, from which two bronze zun-vessels, a bronze jia- tripod and a pottery lei-wine jar were yielded along with quantities of plant seeds, which have been identified to be remains of millet (Figure 5). The western courtyard has been severely damaged. A little to the south of the center is a cellar (H2479) in irregular circular plan, which measures 3.3m in mouth diameter and 2.64m in bottom diameter. It contains a human skeleton heading north and close to a stone block bearing red lacquer remnants, a pottery jar decorated with cord marks was put nearby his feet. The waste water in the courtyards was drained through the pottery pipes under the thresholds into the cesspool furnished in the middle of the corridor-passage and then through the southern pottery sewer down to the large- sized ash pit (H2456) located to the southeast of house foundation F79. The artifacts unearthed from ash pit H2498 are as follows: Bronze zun-vessels, two pieces. Each of them has a wide-opened mouth, a slightly swollen deep belly and a ring foot. Some carbonized plant stems adhered to the surface. H2498:1 is decorated with taotie animal mask designs all over the belly and ring foot. The inner wall of Figure 6 Bronze zun-vessel (H2498:1). the foot bears the inscription “Yayang Fu Ding [ 亚䍩父 丁 ]”. The height measures 30.7cm (Figure 6). H2498:3 is adorned with bird designs on the upper and lower bellies and with horizontal ridges between the two parts. In the inner wall of the ring foot is the inscription “Yaji Fu Gui. Xian [ 亚㠱父癸 . ]”. The whole vessel is 24.1cm in height (Figure 7). Bronze jia-tripod, one piece (H2498:2), bearing charred plant stems and millet on the outer surface. It has a flared mouth, a straight neck, three swollen pocket- shaped legs, and an animal head-shaped handle attached onto one of the legs. The inscription below the handle

Figure 5 The ash pit H2498 (top is east). Figure 7 Bronze zun-vessel (H2498:3). 106 Anyang Archaeological Team, IA, CASS: The excavation at Liujiazhuang Locus North at Yinxu Site

Figure 8 Bronze jia-tripod (H2498:2). Figure 9 Pottery lei-wine jar imitative of bronze (H2498:4).

reads “X Fu Wu[ 父戊 ]”. The height measures 31cm (Figure 8). Pottery lei-wine jar imitative of bronze, one piece (H2498:4). It has a small mouth, a short neck, broad shoulder, a slanting belly and a short ring foot. On the shoulder are ox head-shaped lugs. The upper belly is decorated with incised triangular patterns and vertical cord marks. The overall height is 36.3cm (Figure 9). Based on the pottery from the courtyard area of F79 and the bronzes from H2498, house foundation F79 can 0 3cm be dated as the late stage of Phase IV of the Yinxu Period. 4. Sacrificial pits. This type of vestige includes mainly seven sacrificial pits, i.e. three containing human victims and four keeping human and ox victims. The other pits yielded ox horns, pig skeletons, etc. The largest one, H77, is a human victim pit. It has an irregular round opening and measures 15m in excavated length from north to south, 14.75m in excavated width from east to west, and 1.8m in depth. The earth fill consists of three layers. The second layer contains four human skeletons arranged roughly into a circle. The third layer yielded two skeletons, of which some limb bones are missing. The unearthed artifacts embrace numerous potsherds (including broken proto-porcelain and hard pottery wares), a bronze seal and pottery human-faced statuettes as well as animal bones. One bronze seal was unearthed (2010ALNH77:1). It is in square shape, each side of which measures 2.2cm in length. The obverse bears two “ ” characters side by Figure 10 Bronze seal (H77:1). side in the upper part and a kui-dragon design in the lower Anyang Archaeological Team, IA, CASS: The excavation at Liujiazhuang Locus North at Yinxu Site 107

Figure 12 Owl-bodied human-faced pottery statuette (H77:76).

cups, followed by pottery dou-stemmed bowls and gui- tureens, and li-cauldrons account for a small proportion. In date only a few burials belong to Phase I of the Yinxu Figure 11 Owl-bodied human-faced pottery statuette Period; from Phase II, the number of the burials was (H77:12). increasing; and the largest growth happened in Phase IV, when the custom of using intentionally smashed vessels as grave goods represented by tomb M70 became a part (Figure 10). noteworthy practice. Two pottery owl-bodied human-faced statuettes were M70 is located in Excavation Grid T2022, at an discovered. H77:12 has a flat, even slightly concave face, orientation of 5° . The grave opening is sub-rectangular, erect hair and a bird-shaped body, and measures 18.6cm with the northern side measuring 0.93m and the southern in height (Figure 11). H77:76 left over an intact face, but side 0.84m; the length is 2.2m and the depth about 3.7m. the part below the shoulders is missing. The remaining The grave bottom is furnished with an artificial ledge 0.2– height measures 11.6cm (Figure 12). 0.34m wide and 0.2m high built of mottled earth. In the H77 belongs to Phase II of the Yinxu Period. center of the grave bottom is a waist pit, which measures H1050 is a human and ox victim sacrificial pit. It is in 0.9m in length and 0.45m in width for the opening and a circular plan and measures 1.5m in mouth diameter, 1.7m about 0.2m in depth, and contains a dog skeleton heading in bottom diameter and 1.74m in depth. On the bottom south, which was seriously damaged. The tomb occupant two human skulls, a headless human skeleton’s limb is buried in a red-lacquered double coffin, head pointing bones and an ox skeleton are found. Obviously the last to the north, but the skeleton has only some broken pieces was entombed after being slaughtered and set in order. of the skull left. Eight pieces of grave goods are unearthed Chronologically this pit belongs to Phase II of the Yinxu from this tomb, which are found in the earth fill, on the Period. artificial ledge and in the coffin (Figures 13 and 14). Bronze ding-tripod, one piece (M70:7). It is broken and Burials the remaining fragments are spread on the bottom of the coffin. The whole vessel can be restored to have a round Totally more than 1,000 burials are excavated, most of plan, vertical ears, a vertical belly and a round bottom which belong to the Yinxu Period. There are no high- with three pillar-shaped feet. The neck is decorated with ranking burials; ritual bronzes were recorded only stylized cicada design. The height measures 18.6cm in 23 tombs; and in each tomb furnished with ritual (Figures 15:4 and 16). bronzes, usually only one -goblet and one jue-cup Bronze pou-liquid container, one piece (M70:2). It is are discovered. The cemeteries are spread widely but yielded from the middle of the eastern ledge. The belly sparsely; generally only three to five tombs are gathered was hammered on the two sides before entombment, so together, and groups with more than 10 burials were the whole vessel has been seriously deformed. Still it can seldom encountered. The burials were located not far be identified to have a wide-opened mouth, a curvy belly, away from simultaneous living and production remains. a round bottom, a ring foot and a plain surface. At the The grave goods are largely pottery gu-goblets and jue- center of the inner bottom is the inscription “ ”. The 108 Anyang Archaeological Team, IA, CASS: The excavation at Liujiazhuang Locus North at Yinxu Site

Side of the Side of the grave bottom grave opening

Border of the coffin trace

Waist pit

0 50cm

Figure 13 The plan and section of tomb M70. 2. Bronze pou-liquid container; 3. Bronze jue-cup; 4. Bronze gu-goblet; 5. Bronze knife; 6. Jade ge- dagger ax; 7. Bronze ding-tripod; 8. Bronze gui- tureen (1. from the earth fill).

whole vessel measures 21.4cm in height (Figures 15:7 and 17). Figure 14 Tomb M70 (top is north). Bronze gui-tureen, one piece (M70:8). It is fragmented and spread in the south of the coffin bottom (on the eastern and western sides). It has an out-bent rim, a The whole vessel measures 25.6cm in height (Figures vertical belly and a ring foot. The decorations are formed 15:3 and 20). of a cloud-and-thunder pattern and embossed small Bronze knife, one piece (M70:5). It has been animal heads on the upper belly, lozenge cloud-and- fragmented. The back is narrow. The remaining length is thunder and nipple patterns on the middle belly and taotie 6.9cm (Figure 15:1). animal mask designs on the ring foot. At the center of the Jade ge-dagger ax (M70:6). It is yielded from the inner bottom is the inscription “ ”. The height measures bottom of the coffin, a little to the east of the center. 16.5cm (Figures 15:6 and 18). The body is greenish-white in color and has been badly Bronze jue-cup, one piece (M70:3). It is found on the eroded. The tang has a hole drilled from one side. The right side of the tomb occupant’s skull. It has a narrow length is 4.6cm (Figures 15:2 and 21). spout, a wide tail and an egg-shaped deep belly. Under Oracle bone, one piece (M70:1). It is unearthed from the handle is the inscription “ ”. The belly is decorated the earth fill. Only the joint of the bone remains but the with three rings of bowstring patterns in the upper part. joint angle has been cut off. On the body are two traces of The height is 18.6cm (Figures 15:5 and 19). burning and chiseling. The remaining length is 4.9cm. Bronze gu-goblet, one piece (M70:4). It is unearthed The stratigraphical evidence and grave goods showed from the left side of the tomb occupant’s skull. The mouth that tomb M70 can be attributed to Phase II of the Yinxu is flared; the stem is thick and bears animal mask design. Period. Anyang Archaeological Team, IA, CASS: The excavation at Liujiazhuang Locus North at Yinxu Site 109

1

6 4 5 2 7 3

Figure 15 Grave goods from tomb M70. 1. Bronze knife (M70:5); 2. Jade ge-dagger ax (M70:6); 3. Bronze gu-goblet (M70:4); 4. Bronze ding-tripod (M70:7); 5. Bronze jue-cup (M70:3); 6. Bronze gui-tureen (M70:8); 7. Bronze pou-liquid container (M70:2). (1 and 2. about 1/2; 4. about 1/5; the rest. about 1/4).

Figure 16 Bronze ding-tripod (M70:7). Figure 17 Bronze pou-liquid container (M70:2).

Figure 18 Bronze gui-tureen (M70:8). Figure 19 Bronze jue-cup (M70:3). 110 Anyang Archaeological Team, IA, CASS: The excavation at Liujiazhuang Locus North at Yinxu Site

Figure 21 Jade ge-dagger ax (M70:6).

in the fire. In date F79 belongs to the latest stage of the Yinxu Period, so its destruction may have been related to the downfall of the Shang Dynasty. 4. The clan must have been the lowest basic-level managing unit of the Yinxu Site handicraft production. The distributions of the approximately 1,000 tombs of the Yinxu Period discovered in the present excavation also show the tendency of being arranged by clan. The discovery of the “ ” bronze seal in ash pit H77, Figure 20 Bronze gu-goblet (M70:4). the “ ” clan’s cemetery represented by tomb M70 (in addition to this tomb, M413 and M448 also yielded “ ”-bearing bronzes, i.e. the jue-cup from M413 and Conclusions the ding-tripod from M448) located not far away from the place where the seal was unearthed and the “ ”-bearing 1. The discovered roads were not only the main roads for bronzes unearthed in other areas of the Yinxu Site approaching the palace area of Yinxu Site, but also played indicate that the “ ” clan was related to handicraft and a planning and framing role for the layout of the pottery might have been a clan specially engaged in handicraft workshops and related installations. production. 2. The pottery-making workshop area, together with 5. This bronze seal is the third one of this type the bronze-casting workshop at Miaopu Locus North and archaeologically unearthed in the Yinxu Site. Its legend the bone-processing workshop at Tiesan Road, constituted is composed of a character and a design, which differs the “Handicraft Zone” located to the south of the Yinxu from the previously discovered ones presented only by a Palace and Ancestral Temple Area. It brought about a character or a design. Such composition was never seen great advance to the handicraft production of the Yinxu among the previous finds of the Yinxu Period. Site and much helps the present-day study on the layout of various handicraft departments at that time. Postscript 3. The bronze zun-vessel (H2498:1, see Figure 6) yielded from the hoard H2498 on house foundation The original report authored by Yuling He 何毓灵 , Jigen F79 is so far the only discovery of this kind of artifacts Tang 唐际根 , Zhanwei Yue 岳占伟 and Shishan Niu unearthed in the Yinxu Site. F79 was destroyed by fire. 牛世山 was published in Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) Judged by the massive burnt clay in the storing pit, the 2012. 12: 26–42 with 18 illustrations and six plates. This period of the bronzes being stored in the hoard must have abridged version is prepared by Yuling He and translated roughly coincided with the time of the house’s destruction into English by Runxian Mo 莫润先 .